THE COUNTRY OF HAITI has endured incredible hardship over many decades. Poverty. Political unrest. And significant natural disasters. 

 

It seems no matter how hard they tried, Haiti simply couldn’t break this chain of adversity.

 

The BrandAid project -- which enables third-world artists to sell their work to the developed world -- knew they needed to pay special attention to Haiti. For in Haiti, the craft and artisan industry accounts for one third of the national economy.

 

The idea was simple yet complex. We would unite a collective of Haitian artists under one brand, professionally package their work, and help them gain access to world’s best retailers.

 

The new brand would be called Vodu Nuvo.

 

Voodoo is essential to the Haitian way of life. But it has been so bastardized by Hollywood and the religious right, it has been used to literally scare the world away from Haiti.

 

However, we felt this misunderstanding of Voodoo was actually something we could use to our advantage. We knew if we turned the current perception of Voodoo on its head we could help people see the incredible beauty of Haiti and the Haitian people in an entirely new way.